A rolling bearing of the pre-cited type is described in DE 100 02 026 A1. The disclosed bearing is a radial bearing comprising two rows of cylindrical rolling elements, particularly needle rollers. Each of the two rows comprises a cage for guiding the associated rolling elements as well as a means for a positional fixing of the two cages relative to each other in a pre-assembled state of the bearing. The two cages can be connected directly to each other through a detachable connection which is independent of the remaining bearing components and creates a pre-assembled state of the bearing. The detachable connection of the cages can be configured as a friction-locking clamped joint which permits relative movements, or the connection can also be a positive-engagement connection in form of a plug connection of the bayonet type comprising a snap engagement, or a clip connection. It is further possible to use a glued connection in which the thermal resistance of the glue approximates to zero when an operational value of the bearing temperature is reached.
The purpose of this detachable connection between the cages is to create a relative movability between the cages so that, upon occurrence of tilting moments that can cause a clamping of the rolling elements and, as a result, also torsional torques on the cages, these torques are reduced or completely avoided. Moreover, the detachable connection is also meant to provide the possibility of uniting the cages into a pre-assembled unit with the aim of avoiding errors of assembly.
Multi-row rolling bearings in a bearing arrangement are also described in DE 10 2008 032 027 A1. These bearings are configured as cylindrical roller bearings with the rollers of adjoining rows having different lengths. This known bearing arrangement is an idler pinion bearing which is described in detail in the cited document whose entire content is integrated herewith into the present application as subject matter of the disclosure.